Improvement in time-locks



STA res PATENT OFFICE-f HENRY R. TOWNE AND EMORY strooKweLL, onstrAnroeo'oonnso'rrcn'r, ASSIGNORS TO THE YALE Look MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, or shine;

PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN TIME-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 194,273, dated August14, 1877; application filed July 19, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, HENRY RrTOWNE and EMORYSTOGKWELL, both of Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTime-Locks; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the time-lock. patented byEmory Stockwell, September 21, 1875, No. 168,062.

The object of the present improvement is to simplify the lock referredto by dispensing with one of the revolving dials and with the yoke forcommunicating the motion of said dials to the codnterbalancelever F.

This result is accomplished, as will be seen by reference to thedrawing, by the use of an arrangement of gears, substantially similar tothat described in the patent to S. A. Little, issued January 27, 1874:,No. 146,832, and reissued May 9, 187 6, No. 7,104.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains' to make and use the same, we will now proceed to describeits construction and operation, by reference to the annexed drawing, asfollows:

The drawing represents a time-lock of the kind above referred to, withthe cover or lid removed, thus exposing the interior mechanism.

Its locking device consists of a dogblock, J, sliding in proper ways,which, when raised, closes an aperture, J, in the case of the lock, andthereby prevents the retraction of the bolt-work of the safe-door onwhich the lock .may be used. The dog-block J is controlled by thecounterbalance-lever F, which turns on a suitable fulcrum. In the lowerpart of the lock-case are two time-movements of any approvedconstruction, which give motion respectively to the post or arbors o o.On the outer end of each of these arbors is a gearwheel, P, which issecured'to its arbor by a ratchet-connection similar to that describedin the Little patent above-referred to. These wheels, in turn, gear intoand drive a third wheel, T, which is common to them both, and which, byreason of the ratchet'connections, will be rotated by the twotime-movements jointly if both are running, or by either one of themshould the other stop. (Jonnected with the wheel T, and rotating withit, is a dial provided with adjustable devices, as described in theStockwell patent of September 21, 1875, and on the under side of thecounterbalance-lever F is a spring-finger, suitably arranged, so thatits free end rests upon the annular rim formed by the adjustable pins ofthe dial, which may be pushed in, and which thereby determine the hoursduring which the lock shall remain locked.

The operation of the lock will be apparent at a glance. The adjustablepins in the dial being suitably arranged, by pulling out thoserepresenting the hours of the day during which it is desired that thelock shall remain open, and pushing in those representing the hours ofthe day or night during which it is desired that the lock shall beclosed, the rotation of this dial by the action of the time. mechanismcauses the counterbalance-lever F to alternately be raised into thelocked position and lowered into the unlocked position once in everytwenty-four hours through the instrumentality of the spring X, whichconnects the lever F with the dial.

This construction, as may readily be seen, materially simplifies thelock, and diminishes its cost as compared with that patented September21, 1875, by dispensing with one of the adjustable dials and the yokeand rollers. The chief object attained, however, is the simplificationof the lock in use. As previously arranged, this look contained twoindependent dials revolving in opposite directions, the ad-' justablepins in each of which required to be set to effect locking and unlockingat the desired hours. The rotation of these two dials in oppositedirections was an element of confusion to persons not thoroughlyfamiliar with the lock, and entailed much care in explaining its use tocustomers. With the present im-' provements the lock has but one dial,and but one set of adjustable devices to be arranged, and is thus muchmore simple and more readily understood than heretofore.

Having thus described our invention, what weclaim, and'desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the dial D, having a series of adjustable pins, thelever F, provided with the spring, and the dog-block J, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as ourown we affix oursignatures in presence of two witnesses.

- HENRY R. 'TOWNE. it EMORY STOOKWELL. Witnesses:

GEORGE M. SMITH, O. WAIL.

